THE BORN DAY OF NINA SIMONE WAS RECENTLY OBSERVED

AND IT INSPIRES ME TO REVISIT THIS ARTWORK I CREATED

IN 2001, TO BE FIRST EXHIBITED AT THE WORLD FAMOUS

CATALINA JAZZ CLUB IN HOLLYWOOD AT A MUSICAL TRIBUTE

TO NINA SIMONE. AN A-LIST OF MUSICAL ICONS PERFORMED

AND AS LEDISI PERFORMED "FOUR WOMEN" BY NINA SIMONE,

I UNVEILED "FLEURS POUR NINA", NINA LOVED FLOWERS AND

SHE LOVED THE OCEAN, IN THE SURREALISM OF MY IMAGINATION,

I SAW HER IN THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN SURROUNDED BY

HER BELOVED FLOWERS. THE GAZE OF HER EYES ARE DIRECT

AND UNAFFECTED, SLIGHTLY CONFRONTATIONAL. SUCH IS NINA.

IN 2014, THIS ARTWORK WELCOMED VIEWERS TO MY EXHIBIT

OF 48 ARTWORKS AT THE CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM

UNDERLINED WITH MY ORIGINAL QUOTE. THE EXHIBIT ORIGINALLY SLATED

FOR THREE MONTHS, WAS HELD OVER ON TWO OCCASIONS ULTIMATELY

COMING TO A CLOSE SEVEN MONTHS LATER. I REMAIN TO BE HONORED

AND LOOK FORWARD TO MY NEXT MUSEUM EXHIBIT - MK/ARTIST